Month: April 2015

I always find starting a new way of eating difficult, but this time I’m thinking slowly but surely wins the race! Both Paul and I need to lose some weight, my see chocolate and eat it post pregnancy diet, hasn’t helped me to off load the pounds, so it’s time to get to it!

Now I’m not saying I want to be totally Paleo, I was thinking I would just incorporate this way of eating into a healthy regime… It would be difficult for me to fully incorporate the cave man diet into my eating plan as I’m not a huge fan of meat, but I do love fish! I’m trying to plan recipes that can be adapted for everyone else in the house, so it’s no easy feat!

The first thing I need to do is educate myself to reach for fruit instead of chocolate, and then Paul really needs some work, he will always reach for chips instead of anything, it really is baby steps for both of us!

I like the idea of the Paleo diet, but I don’t want to be totally tied to it, it would be difficult to totally commit, so I’m using it as a guide line. I suffer with IBS, but I’ve been noticing a few things recently, like the fact that I can’t eat a lot of wheat based products, brown wheat bread gives me horrible cramps for hours, eating lighter healthier meals means I do not feel so bloated all the time… It’s all an experiment but my stomach has been feeling a lot better as I’m taking note of the things that hurt and the things that don’t!

I’ve also reduced my main dairy intake too, the dairy aspect of my life has been replaced by coconut milk products, it’s been made a lot easier of course by Starbucks introducing coconut milk on to their menu… Phew, that was a close one, I almost had to give it up!

Paul also has some stomach issues, we are starting to help him by eliminating certain things from his diet, the first one is gluten, I’ve tried to research some of his problems and a lot looks like it could be linked to gluten, I’m no doctor but a diet change could help, I’m a great believer that diet is very important to almost all ailments , and the digestive system problems just scream change what you are eating! For years now food companies have added all sorts of nasty things to our foods, we have been oblivious, these kinds of additives must have had some knock on effects to our bodies, it’s time to try and correct these bad things and replace them with good things! So far we are enjoying the gluten free bread, the grain free chocolate cookies tasted good but the gluten free beer was not a success… Two out of three is not too bad a result!

Of course a little cheating here and there is a good thing… So here was ours on Sunday afternoon!

I’m a big event planner for special days… I like Birthdays to be special for the person who’s day it is, I plan what we will be doing, the food, the cake, the decorations, sometimes it doesn’t always go to plan, but I like to try to get it right, and Easter is no different! This Easter started on Thursday for us, unfortunately not for Paul though as he doesn’t get Good Friday or Easter Monday off, so with that in mind we headed to meet Paul for what turned out to be a late lunch at his office…

The afternoon was slightly rushed due to car restraints that come with sharing your car… the weather was beautiful, if not a little windy, and the scenery was fabulous, so a few photos had to be snapped!

As the weather was going to be reasonable for the weekend, we decided to head to my happy place… The beach on Saturday! It was a bright sunny day with lots of sunshine and blue skies, but oh, that wind was brutal… Paul was a trooper and spent along time playing in the sand with Florrie, even with the mother of all hangovers (no sympathy there though)!

Easter Sunday was not a restful and relaxing day for me as I’d imagined, there was the basket making, the gift opening the egg hunt organization, cake making and dinner prep, but thankfully my mum did most of the last one, by late afternoon I sat with my glass of wine and breathed a sigh of relief…

Easter Monday was girls shopping day out, of course Tate was the only boy allowed until at the last minute Jordan decided to gate crash our fun Urban Outfitters day shopping…

There is just something about Easter weekend that I love, perhaps the promise of spring just around the corner, or the thoughts of an alarm free week ahead as my children had Spring break… Or just some quality time with my family… One thing is for sure though, getting home after a fun packed weekend, kicking my shoes off and sitting on my new rug, hand dancing with my children to Jordan’s new vinyl was the perfect way to finish our Easter off!

Adjusting to Paul’s new job is a slow process, but it’s true what they say ‘absence does make the heart grow stronger’, Paul had been working from home so much recently that I think we had all taken each other for granted too much, we had lost the art of appreciation, and now separation has helped to heal aggravated behavior we had all started to adopt! My two babies smile from ear to ear when he walks through the door, Tate was even repeatedly saying ‘dad dad’ last night and patting his tummy, just too cute!

I think when you are commuting every day, it really makes you appreciate the weekends much more, that time you do have becomes more precious… Both Paul and I are huge family people, I guess that’s why we have so many children, and as our children have grown older you appreciate those precious family times together because you know just round the corner they will be fleeing this cosy family nest and may not be there for every occasion soon, as they will be creating their own lives in different places!

Last weekend flew by in a flash, it was the last of winter indoor soccer for Mabel, yay, is Spring really here already? Monday saw us in Morristown after a trip to the doctors office for Florrie and Tate, who have been poorly with fevers, chesty coughs and stuffy noses for a week now! We had so much fun in Century 21, but it turned out to be a little cold for the Arboretum and our picnic plans, so a cake from Carlos’ Bakery and a warm Starbucks coffee had to do instead!

The last couple of days have been absolutely crazy weather wise, Tuesday was cold and snowy, we stayed indoors most of the day and cranked the heating up… Yes I know it was almost April but it was damn cold! It was an early start taking Farrel to work yesterday morning, there was at least an inch of snow on my car and a very unexpected thick layer of ice too, it took 15 minutes on the drive and a 20 minute car ride to defrost the ice on my windscreen… The whole place looked like Winter had arrived yet again! By lunch time the weather’s April fools prank was laughing at us, as the sky was blue, the sun was shining, the snow had disappeared as the temperatures hit 50f, my layered winters apparel was screaming at me, you are too hot now… Florrie was excited to change into her new pool sandals I had just purchased and my feet have been desperate for some air after a long winter stuffed into boots, so when I got home I dug out my dusty flip flops, I didn’t care if it wasn’t that warm, I put them on and did the flip flop dance, which did make Jord smile just a little bit!

Easter Weekend starts here for us… We are off to meet Paul for lunch today, the temps are meant to be in the 60’s, sunny and warm, so a walk around the marina near to his new office sounds like a perfect way to spend an hour or two this afternoon…

Have a great Easter, whatever you are doing… Let’s hope the weather is perfect for egg hunts and lots of fun!